Forever a family
by itachikage
Summary: With everyone's successful return from edolas, Natsu finds someone he never dreamed came with them. just as everything seems to be looking up, tragedy strikes. What can be done to save the woman that he loves? NaLi
1. Chapter 1

Forever a family chapter 1

First Purely Fairy Tail story i've ever written. It's NaLi, so if you don't like it, tough.

I don't known Fairy Tail.

* * *

Natsu opened his eyes, and, after recalling everything that happened in Edolas, he jumped to his feet. He was in the forest just outside of Magnolia, the same place he'd often played with Lisanna as kids. He was literally less than twenty feet from the tree where they'd found Happy's egg. His comrades were all lying around the clearing.

"We made it back!" He cheered and the other quickly joined in, until Erza spoiled it.

"We cannot relax just yet. We have to be sure that the others are alright."

"I'm sure their fine." Natsu grins, sniffing around, "I can smell them-"one scent in particular shocked him. 'It couldn't be…' He was so wrapped up in this thought, he completely ignored the exceeds showing up and explaining things to Carla.

"Natsu? Natsu?" Lucy says, poking him in the shoulder until he looked over, "What's wrong?"

"Sorry guys." He says suddenly, "I'll be back." 'I've got to be sure.' He thought as he raced into the forest behind him. Not far away, he found a vaguely familiar small black cat dragging someone around by a rope. That person's white hair…

'I was right!' he gasps, "Lisanna!" he shouts, rushing over to her.

"Natsu!" she cries, trying to drag her captor away, though he proved to be far stronger than he should be.

With one move, the now much larger black cat was sent crashing through the trees, and the rope burned to a crisp as Natsu pulled his childhood friend into his arms, "is it really you?"

She returned the hug tightly, "Yeah, it's me."

At that time, the rest had arrived to the find the two clinging to each other.

"That's impossible…" Grey whispers in disbelief.

"Lisanna?" Erza asks tentatively.

"Why did the Edolas Lisanna..?" Lucy asks quietly.

"She isn't." Natsu says, wiping a tear from his eye, "She's the real one."

"How?" Erza asks, "We all thought that you died two years ago."

"I didn't." she says calmly considering she was under Erza's death gaze, "I somehow got sucked into an Anima, and replaced the Edolas Lisanna that did die."

"Then you knew?" Grey stares, "Why didn't you tell us?"

After an awkward moment, she answered, "I just couldn't. Mira and Elfman were so kind; I just couldn't bear to see the sadness on their faces again."

Natsu held her close again as the tears started flowing, "Lisanna… Let's go. There are still two people you need to see." Turning to everyone else, he said, "You guys can head to the guild. Let the master know."

"Hold on for just a second!" Gajeel whines, "I still need to find my cat!"

"Your cat?" Natsu stares at him for a moment.

"PANTERLILY!" He shouts, looking around.

Once it clicked Natsu laughs, "That was where I knew him from. I think I punched him somewhere over there."

"What the hell were you punching my cat for?" Gajeel growls before racing into the path of destroyed trees.

"We'll be expecting you." Erza says kindly, "I shouldn't have to tell you where they are."

"I know." He nods, holding out his arm for Lisanna, "Shall we?"

Lisanna smiles and accepts it. Somewhere behind them, someone said what sounded curiously like "She lllllllllikes him!" Before it was silenced by three audible punches.

As they walked through the empty streets of Magnolia, Natsu smiles as Lisanna marveled at the many changes since she'd been gone.

"Where are we going?" she asks after they turn away from the guild.

"Two years ago, you left on that mission with Elfman and Mira." Natsu sighed, "Every year, they both go to Kardia Cathedral."

"Will they think I'm a zombie?" she grins playfully.

"I doubt it, but you might give Mira a heart attack." He smirks as the two laughs the whole way.

"It's time, Mira." Elfman says as they stand beside their sister's grave.

"Just a little bit longer." She mutters from her kneeled position. If only she'd been stronger. That was the thought that always played through her mind on this day. It was her weakness that got her killed…

"Mira! Elfman!" a voice yelled from behind them and her heart skipped a beat. 'It couldn't be…' she thinks as she hesitantly turns her head. Natsu's pink hair was visible just outside the gate, and for the briefest second, she assumed that it was him that had called them, until she saw the white haired girl running towards them.

Next to her, Elfman had dropped the umbrella in shock, "No way…."

The tears she'd been holding in all day couldn't be contained any longer as she cries tears of joy. Her little sister was still alive, and at the moment, that was far more important than how she survived or why she was gone so long. None of that mattered anymore.

Lisanna throws her arms around her sister, crying happily into her shoulder even as she does the same. Only a moment later, her brother joins in as well.

From the gate, Natsu smiles brightly at the happy reunion. He really wanted to talk with Lisanna again, but that could wait. This was more important.

* * *

Natsu walks into the guild just before the newly reunited Strauss siblings, all of whom were still crying softly together.

Wakaba couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease the 'man' Elfman by saying, "What's up Elfman? I thought that men don't cry?" He instantly regretted this when no less than half the guild eyed him evilly, including Makarov, Gildarts, Erza, Natsu, and Mira.

Elfman continued crying as he glared, "A real Man shouldn't be afraid to show his tears when they're justified!"

Less than a minute later, there was a crumpled body on the floor as the guild welcomed Lisanna back the only way they knew how. Party, followed by a brawl. Even Lisanna got dragged into it, somehow having the reflexes to dodge a wave of purple flames from Macao. Like his friend, he regretted this when confronted with Mira's Satan Soul.

Only two people weren't fighting. Makarov and Gildarts sat at the bar, talking and laughing as the others rumble.

"Worried?" Makarov asks while refilling their drinks.

"I am." He sighs, 'You know what happened to Mystogan. It'll probably be even worse for her."

"What will you do?"

Gildarts drained his glass and rose, "I'll be leaving for a few days. Keep an eye on her. At the first sign something is going wrong, get her to Porlyusica."

"Very well. Hurry back. Past experience says that we've only got maybe three or four days before it happen, and that's if she doesn't use here magic. IT'll be much sooner if she does.."

"I know." He nods, before turning and walking through the guild hall. His unconscious control over his powers sent the entire guild flying in all directions.

* * *

Early the next morning, Lisanna struggles to climb out of between her siblings without waking them, but eventually she got to her feet. Quickly scribbling a message to her sister, she crept out of the silent guild hall and walked to the outskirts of town. 'This place has so many memories.' She thought as she walked around the small 'house' she'd built while she and Natsu were raising Happy's egg.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?" a voice says from behind her, and she turns around. Natsu was smiling happily from the road behind her, "Looks like great minds think alike. I just had a thought that i should check this place out."

"I'm amazed that it's still standing." She admits as she places a hand on the wall.

"I've been taking care of it." Natsu smiles, "You doing alright?"

"I'm great." She chuckles, "I'm glad that if everything else has changed, Fairy tail and this place never will."

"You've got that right." Natsu laughs, "I used to always come here, to help me remember the good old days. No one know about it except us and happy. I'm sure even Elfman forgot where it was."

"When you think about it, nothing really has changed, has it?" She says happily, "We've gotten a little older, but this is still someplace we can go and just relax, not having to worry about anything."

"I know." Natsu sighs, "I can't tell you how much I missed you."

"I missed you too." She cries slightly, "it was almost unbearable to lie to you in Edolas."

Natsu pulls her into a one armed hug and the crying subsides after a moment, "It's alright. Everything is going to be okay."

"Thank you, Natsu." She smiles.

"He llllikes her!" a voice says from the house.

"You want to or should I?" Natsu smirks.

"Together." She grins.

Three seconds later, there were two identical punches and one cry of pain from a blue exceed.

"Natsu?" She asks, dragging his attention away from the cat limping away from them "Isn't it almost time for the S-class trials?"

"Yup!" he grins, "I hope I get picked this year!"

"Well, why don't we go on a few jobs todays?" she blushes slightly, "and maybe after that we can grab some dinner?"

Natsu's grin widened as he replies, "I was going to suggest the same thing. Now, let's get back before Mira thinks I kidnapped you or something."

""oh, don't worry I left a note." She smirks, "but it still might be a good idea to hurry back. She always was pretty good about exaggerating the littlest things."

Shivering at the thought of an angry Mira, they rushed back to the guild, laughing the whole way.

* * *

"Natsu!" Mira growls the moment they walked back into the guild hall, "If you think I'm going to let you take advantage of my sister less than a day after I get her back, you are going to learn the hard way…."

Sensing a need to intervene before her sister completely lost all reason, Lisanna stepped between them, "it isn't like that. I was just going for a walk and Natsu found me. I just thought that we might eat breakfast together and catch up."

"Wonderful." Mira says cheerfully, all threat of demon attack lost… "In fact, I think I'll join you. We didn't really get a chance to talk last night." Or maybe she just decided on gathering information before she broiled him alive.

Breakfast was uncomfortable to say the least. Natsu and Lisanna were stuck between two very over protective siblings. Mira was insisting that she needed to practice her magic for the upcoming S-class Trials (Completely ignoring the fact that she was already an S-class mage) so she decided that she would be eating her meals in Satan mode. Elfman, who was sitting next to Natsu, said that a real MAN was always ready for battle, so his beast arm was plainly displayed. Neither Natsu nor Lisanna doubted what the real reason was.

"So, Lisanna, what were you going to do today?" Mira asks sweetly, despite her intimidating appearance.

"Well, um… I was thinking about going on a job with Natsu…" she mutters, taking a sip of her orange juice.

"Absolutely not." Elfman growls, glaring at Natsu, "Only a REAL Man can protect my sister!"

"We could go on a job, if you want?" Mira smiles, "I'm sure a job could be just the training I need…" Lisanna mumbles something under her breath, which Natsu can't hear.

After an awkward moment of silence, Mira nods, and grabs Natsu's arm, "Let me talk to you for a second." She growls and Natsu looks to Lisanna for help, only to find her looking at him apologetically. 'You didn't…' he thinks as he gets dragged away.

"Yes, this should be good." Mira nods once they'd reached an isolated room in the guild hall probably only known to Mira and the master, "No one else to get in the way."

'Why don't I like the sound of that?' he thinks as he slowly attempts to back away from the demon in front of him.

"This is what is going to happen." She starts, stopping him in his tracks, "I am going to pick a job for you two. That is the only job you will go to, and you will not take her anywhere even remotely dangerous. If she so much as skins her knee, you will die a slow and painful death, am I understood?"

"Aye, Sir!" He says in his best happy impression.

"If she isn't back at the guild tonight, I'll show you the Satan soul that **no one **has ever seen." She adds before walking out of the room, leaving him terrified at the very thought of such a thing.

* * *

Five minutes after they left, Mira came back without the pink haired dragon slayer. Lisanna was seriously worried, even more so when Elfman asked where she hid the body and she brushed him off.

"You didn't..?" she gasps, as her sister smirks.

"If he died it was because my last threat gave him a heart attack." She chuckles, "See, there he is now."

Sure enough, the slayer staggered into the room, looking like he'd just gotten off a week long train ride. His expression brightens slightly from seeing her, but it darkened even more after Mira waves to him.

Once he'd finally gotten the nerve to walk over, Lisanna glares at her sister, "What did you do?"

"We talked." She says blandly, handing Natsu a piece of paper, "Speaking of, this should be perfect."

Looking at the piece of paper, it was a simple mission to collect some fruit from the section of the forest with almost no monsters. His first reaction was to complain that it was too boring, but Mira's glare stopped that thought in its tracks.

"Great. Thanks." He mutters, than smiles at Lisanna, "Ready to go?"

"Sure, what's the job?"

"Collecting some fruit like the old days."

"Did you get cautious while I was away?" she glares, "Can't we at least take the one to take care of the over population of forest Vulcans?"

He looks to Mira, who smiles at her sister, "Sorry, but Elfman and I were going to take that one." She chuckles, elbowing her brother in the ribs before he could say anything.

"Damn. Well, we'll find another job once that one is down." She sighs, and the two leave the filling guild.

"Mira, what was up with that? I thought we were going to follow them?" Elfman asks as Mira grabs the Vulcan job out of Nobs hand, and sends him running with a glare.

"You know how Lisanna would react if she knew what was going on. I'll finish this job in five minutes and join you watching them." She says and walks to the master, "I'll take this one."

"It's rather unusual for you to go on a job?" He smiles, "I'm guessing that you want to watch her on hers and Natsu's date?"

"Just a bit." She sighs, "But I could also use a little bit of money since we'll need a whole new wardrobe for her."

"Well, stay safe, and keep a close eye on her." He nods, marking down the job, "And if possible, have her avoid using magic."

"Why?' She glares, almost scaring even a wizard saint.

"Just a precaution." He chuckles nervously, 'You never know what could've happened after two years in another world."

Part of her wanted to wring the old man for all the information he was clearly hiding from her, but the other part was still worried, so she said, "This conversation isn't done yet." And sped from the guild.

Less than five minutes flight from the guild, she reached the main section of the forest, which was overrun with Forest Vulcans. She whistles loudly, drawing most of them into her sight, "Soul Extinction!" she roars and vaporizes three quarters of them at them. Less than a minute later, the job is complete and she races over to the other part of the forest.

* * *

The first thing she did after they left the guild was grab Natsu's arm, "So, what happened?"

"With what?' He asks dumbly.

"You hate these lame jobs as much as I do, so why are you still choosing it instead of some other job?" she asks firmly, "I know that the number of jobs you complete is a factor in the S-class Exam, but still, you could've found a different job if you wanted to."

"Mira was worried about you." He sighs, "She didn't want you going on a dangerous mission, so she made it clear that she was picking the job and that I wasn't allowed to do anything dangerous."

"I knew it." She growls, "Even after I told her that I wanted to go on a real job…"

"Don't worry." He smiles, "Besides, this might be better. It'll give us a chance to talk without having to worry about getting eaten or something."

"He lllllllllikes her." Someone said from behind them, followed quickly by a loud smack and something hitting the ground. They turned and found nothing, "Weird." Natsu says thoughtfully, "Did you just hear happy?"

"Yeah, but who hit him?" She wonders, "And where did they go?"

Both shrugs and continue onwards even as Elfman holds his hand over the cat's mouth to stop it from talking. 'It's not manly to hide, but it's even more unmanly to get beaten up by your sister….' He thinks as he continues sneaking around behind them. Happy, after a brief moment of thought, joins him in sneaking.

Once they were at the section of the forest mentioned in the job, they saw that there were twenty large baskets, "The job says that we need to fill all twenty with fruit." Lisanna says reading the job to be sure.

"Alright." Natsu nods, "So, why don't we drag the baskets over to the trees and get to work? I'd like to do a better job."

"Good. I need to have some words with Mira." She smiles, helping Natsu drag the baskets into the forest. It only took a couple of minutes to find ten trees in close proximity to each other that they could use. Placing the baskets in a line by the clearing, Natsu jumps up onto a tree and starts throwing the fruit into the basket.

"Take Over: Half-Bird Soul!" Lisanna says as she turns into a harpy and flies onto a higher branch with more fruit, grabbing as many as she can and flying them down to the basket before repeating. They were able to fill on and a half baskets from that first tree.

"Good work!" Natsu grins, "Let move onto the next one."

"Okay!" she smiles back.

While they started working on the next tree, Mirajane lands next to her brother, "How is everything?"

"Nothing wrong yet." He answers.

"Aye!" Happy whispers, "They've just been talking and picking fruit the whole time. I don't see why Natsu picked this boring job. Now, if it was to catch fish…"

"Mira glances at her, and narrows her eyes, "How long has she been using magic?"

"Fifteen minutes." Elfman replies, "Why? What's wrong?"

"Master Makarov said that she should avoid it if possible…" she says thoughtfully.

"It doesn't seem to be causing any problems." Happy smiles, "lighten up, Mira! I'll even give you one of my fish!"

Mira glares at the offered fish so much it caught fire.

Forty-five minutes later, fifteen of the twenty baskets were full, and the surrounding trees were picked clean, except for one branch on the last tree. "Lisanna, why don't we take a break and finish up this fruit." Natsu asks, tossing her an apple.

Lisanna lands next to him, panting slightly as she caught it, "Yeah… sounds good."

"Are you alright?" He asks nervously, "You're face is all red."

"Fine." She says, leaning up against a tree, "just tired. I didn't get much sleep last night."

'She's lying." Mira thinks eyes full of concern, 'I checked every hour to make sure she was sleeping.'

Natsu, however, seemed to accept this and before long they were laughing like they always did, telling stories about the adventures they got into with happy when he was a kitten, and swapping stories of their own adventures after her 'death'.

Once the last couple pieces were finished, they set out in search of a few more trees. Less than a minute's walk, they found five smaller trees in a cluster. "Same way as before?" he asks as she turns back to her half bird soul. The job went by quickly and they soon had the last basket filled.

"Well, that should do it." Natsu says as the last piece lands in the basket, "Ready to head back?" When he doesn't receive an answer, he grows concerned, "Lisanna?" Still nothing, quickly, he leaps up the branches to the very top, where Lisanna was before. On the top most branch, she was fainted up against the trunk, "Lisanna!" he gasps, grabbing her.

Her face was completely red, and even he could tell she was running a high fever. 'Crap. What do I do? Take her to the guild? What if the master can't help her? Porlyusica? Would she help her? Wendy?' every thought crossed through his mind at light speed and he finally jumped off of the top branch. "I've got to hurry." He mutters, rushing into the forest. He must have passed through the place where Mira was doing that job, but he paid no mind to the Vulcan, blasting them out of his way with one hand.

Twenty minutes after he found her, Natsu slams the door to Porlyusica's tree house open, "Please! I need help!"

'Well, that much is obvious." She glares, holding her broom threateningly, "Your mental issues aren't something I can help you with."

"Lisanna's got a high fever!" he pants, "Please! You have to help her!"

Her expression softens slightly at the girl in his arms, "Put her on the bed." She orders as she moves out of his way. He quickly obeys, placing her on the bed. Porlyusica places a firm hand on her forehead and frowns, "This isn't good. She's spent a long time in Edolas, Hasn't she?"

"Two years." Natsu nods shakily.

"She's going to die." Porlyusica says gravely as the color drain from Natsu's face.

* * *

Poor Natsu. He just got his friend back and now she's going to die?

Maybe. Next chapter, you'll find out why, when this has happened before, and what the consequences were, plus the only way that they can save her. Until then, Rate and Review.


	2. The Mission

Forever a Family chapter 2

The Mission

Here's chapter 2! My thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'm glad that so many of you enjoyed the first chapter. And I hope you all enjoy this one as well.

* * *

"What's going on?" Elfman asks as Natsu starts calling out to his sister, "Is she still there? What happened?"

"I don't know." Mira gulps, "But I'm nervous. Come on, Lisanna. Just answer him."

The next moment, Natsu landed in the clearing, holding their sister in his arms and dashing off to the forest.

"Lisanna!" All three of them yell, chasing after the pink haired slyer, who hadn't heard them. Unwilling to leave her sister's side, Mira let loose completely, entering Satan soul once again just to keep the Slayer in her sight. Happy and Elfman were left completely in the dust as the two inhuman mages tear a path through the forest, leaving an obvious path for them to follow.

It wasn't long before Natsu wrenched the door to Porlyusica's tree house and started begging for her help. Mira doesn't stop to catch her breath as she rushing in after him just as Porlyusica delivered the news.

"She's going to die."

With those words, Mirajane feels the color drain from her face. Life was cruel. Giving her back her sister only to take her away less than a day later. With that thought, she fell forward, unconscious.

"Mira!" Natsu says, catching her, and helping her to one of the chairs in the house, "What do you mean she's going to die?!"

"Exactly as I said." She sighs, "There isn't anything I can do to help her now."

"Lisanna! Mira!" Elfman yells, breaking in through the closest wall and rushing to his little sister's side.

It was a mark of how serious the situation was that Porlyusica never made any comment about his method of entrance, instead turning to the flying cat, weakly following him, "Return to the guild, and get Makarov. He's the only one that may be able to help."

Happy doesn't answer, simply rushing out toward the city. They all stood in silence aside from Elfman, who once again had manly tears streaming down his cheeks. Despite the distance, Happy returned with Master Makarov ten minutes after he left.

"I feared this might happen." He sighs, "The same as Mystogan?"

"I'm afraid so." She nods.

"What is happening to my sister?" Elfman cries.

"While she was in Edolas, her magical energy was drained" She explains, "She was likely very sick during the first few weeks, until she was completely drained of her strength. Over time, her body grew accustomed to the lack of magic, and because one doesn't need magic to survive, she recovered fully. Those in Edolas likely thought it was merely a flu."

"But if that's the case, why is she like this!?" Natsu yells.

"Because magic is powerful." Porlyusica growls, "Her condition in Edolas was similar to Makarov's after he was hit by Drain. Since she is significantly weaker than Makarov, simply draining magic is no serious threat. Once she returned to Earthland, however, her body started generating magic again, placing it under an incredible amount of strain. As she is now, she'll die long before her body adjusts."

"Is there anything we can do?" Mira asks weakly, having regained consciousness at the beginning of the conversation.

"That was what I needed Makarov for." She says, looking to him, "He is one of only two people to have saved someone in this state."

"This is different than you were." He says gravely, "It took me over a weak to stabilize your condition. Given how quickly she progressed, she would never last that long."

"That leaves only Gildarts." She sighs, "Last I heard, he was at the Guild."

"He left last night. We both knew that this was going to happen, but we never dreamed it would come so soon."

"We need him back here if we're going to have any chance of saving her."

"How long?" Makarov asks as he places a hand on Lisanna's forehead.

"Two days, maybe three." She says gravely, "I wouldn't expect any longer."

Nodding, he turns to Natsu, "Natsu, I have a mission for you. Take Erza, Mira, Happy, and Warren with you, and find Gildarts. He can't have gotten far in one night."

"I'm going too." Elfman says, rising to his feet.

"No. They need to move quickly. A small group has a better chance of finding him than the whole guild. You need to stay here and pray for her. I'll send Wendy up; see if she can help at all. Any time we can get we'll take." Makarov says, grabbing his shoulder.

"That's my sister!"

"And you would only get in the way if you go!" he growls, "Please. Just stay here. Lisanna will need your support now more than ever."

Elfman nods, and sits back down.

"Let's go." Natsu says seriously, "We're not wasting any time. Let's get back to the guild and go."

"Send Wendy. I'll stay and do what I can." Makarov nods, holding his hands over her as a pale golden glow surrounds her.

Natsu rushes into the still laughing guild, looking for the members he needed.

"About time, Flame for brains." Grey smirks, "What's wrong? Can't pick fruit anymore?"

"Shut up." Natsu roars, sending grey flying, "Erza, Warren, We've got a job. Let's go."

"Now?" Warren asks, "Can't I at least finish my beer?"

"NO." he answers, dodges Grey's ice make hammer and sending him flying again, "I'll explain on the way. Wendy, the master needs you at Porlyusica's."

"I'm sorry… but I don't know where that is…" Wendy mutters.

"This is serious, isn't it?" Grey asks, pulling himself out of the ruble of a table, and after seeing Natsu's nod, he grabs Wendy, 'I'll take you. You guys get moving."

"Right. Let's go." Erza says as she grabs warren and drags him out of the guild hall. Natsu starts smelling, and by some miracle, found Gildarts trail.

After they left the city, Warren asks, "So what is this important job?"

"Lisanna's dying and her only chance is if we can get Gildarts." He answers, "Wendy, Gramps, and the old hag are doing what they can, but unless Gildarts has some secret. It won't make any difference, so right now; we've got to find him as quickly as possible."

"Then let's stop talking about it and go." Erza nods, walking to a nearby house and stealing their magical vehicle, "We'll return this later." She insists, "Hop on."

His concern for Lisanna won out over his aversion to transportation and they shot off into the path. Despite his stomach's protests, Natsu kept his mind trained on Gildarts scent, giving Erza directions every time that it changed direction. With Erza's magic powering it, and her behind the wheel, they broke likely every law in the country, but by the end of the night, they'd managed to get as far as Ozuma, over a hundred miles from Magnolia.

"He's here." Natsu grumbles, "He's in this town." The car grinds to a halt.

"I'll try and call out to him." Warren says as he places a hand on his head, 'Gildarts, Gildarts, are you out there?'

All of them heard him in their mind, along with the surprised response from every person in the town.

Finally, just as they were about to give up hope, one last voice answered them, 'That you Warren? What's up?'

'Gildarts! Thank god! We need to talk to you.' Warren answers.

'I'm in the center of town.' He replies, 'I'll wait for you.'

"Let's go." Erza says as she starts the car again, rocketing them through the streets and ignoring the startled cries of the people. As he said, Gildarts was waiting for them in the middle of the town square.

"What's up?" he asks them after they get off the car.

"Lisanna needs your help." Natsu says, relieved that they were done with the car.

"Already?" He gasps, "But she should have had a few more days!"

"Well, she doesn't." Mira cries, "Please… she needs you."

"Right now, there is nothing I can do." He sighs, "That's why I came here. There's a ten year quest from a merchant in this town. The reward is the only thing that can save her, but if what you said is true, we're running out of time. It would take me a couple of days to break through the protections and finish it at the very least."

"Lisanna has three days at the most." Natsu growls, "What about together? Could we get done faster?"

"Maybe. Warren, I need you to do me a huge favor." He says to the black haired mage, "Go to Selshen and talked to Blue Pegasus guild master Bob. Tell him that we need to borrow Ren Akatsuki. Tell him we'll pay whatever price they want for the job."

"Ren? From the Trimens?" Warren asks, "What exactly does he need to do?"

"Ren uses Wind Magic, and has some proficiency with Drain. It won't save her, but I could at least buy us some time by relieving some of the pent up magic."

"Alright, I'll drive straight there." He answers, "And then I'll be sure to return this to the couple you stole it from, Erza."

Once he'd gone, the remaining five followed Gildarts to his hotel room, where he explained what the job was.

"Twenty five years ago, a local merchant with a massive fortune spent an over a hundred million jewels on defense spell and enchantments to guard his vault, which still contained more money than the Royal Family of Foire. However, only after the spells were cast did he realize that the location of his vault had been built in front of the prison for one of Zeref's demons, which was accidentally released after the spells were cast. Since then, he hasn't been able to access the bulk of his fortune. He placed a job to every guild in the country, in the hopes that one would be able to defeat the demon and give him back his money. Since then, over four hundred mages have been killed on this quest."

"And this is the only way to save her?" Natsu asks, slightly worried.

"The only feasible one." He nods, "The main problem isn't so much the demon. Any of the wizard saints could likely defeat it. The problem is the defensive spells, which severely weaken anyone that tries to pass them. In that state, mages are easy prey for it."

How are we going to do this then?" Mira glares.

"Earlier today, I tested my powers against the barriers. They are self-repairing spells that would take something on par with etherion to destroy completely, but my disassembly magic at full strength leaves it open for half a second before it repairs itself. With my reactions slowed by my injuries from that black dragon, I can't take advantage of that opening, so I was determined to break through it the hard way. However, you three can go in there tomorrow and kill it. I wish I could help, but I would be less than useless unless the barriers are down."

"So, the three of us against Zeref's demon?" Natsu nods, "Good. Let's go now."

"No." Erza says sharply, "I'm exhausted from driving all day; you still haven't recovered from your motion sickness, so that only leaves Mira at full strength. We'll rest tonight and do it in the morning when we're all fresh."

"Good plan." Gildarts says as he hits the lights. Mira and Natsu set aside their worry and fall into a troubled sleep.

* * *

All talking inside the guild hall was centered on one topic: Lisanna. They all found it so hard to believe that the girl who they all thought was dead not twenty four hours before was lying at death's door already. It wasn't helped along by Master Makarov's absence, leaving most of the guild anxious for news. Grey had been elected as the official go between with Porlyusica; not that it helped any. He got two words before being thrown out.

"I feel so helpless…" Wendy cries, "But there's nothing I can do."

"There isn't anything that any of us can do." Lucy sighs, "Why didn't the master send more people? Wouldn't it go quicker with more people searching for him?"

"Not if Gildarts doesn't want to be found." Nob counters, "A huge group of wizards searching would draw more attention that a small group searching carefully."

"I hope that they found him…" Elfman growls, clenching his fists so tightly they were white, 'I can't stand doing nothing!"

"It's five in the morning." Cana sighs, "I'm sure that they found him by now. Let's just hope that he makes it in time."

After a few more moments of relative silence, the doors swung open. Warren and a familiar dark skinned man walked in, "Is the master here? I've got news." He says, looking around the bar.

"He's still with Lisanna and Porlyusica." Grey answers, getting up, "I'll take you, and you can fill me in on the way."

"Good idea." Warren nods, and the three leave the guild hall as fast as possible. On the way into the forest, they passed the ruins of an old magic mobile that looked like it had been hit by Gildarts, but wasn't there before, "Remind me to tell the master he needs to repair that." Warren mutters as they pass, "Anyway, Natsu and the others found Gildarts, but he apparently needed to complete a job in order to help Lisanna, so they stayed behind to help. Gildarts said that Ren here might be able to buy them some time."

"I'll do what I can." The dark skinned mage nods as the rush through the trees, arriving at the hermit's house.

"What is it this time?" She glares, "Her condition hasn't changed since an hour ago."

"I've got word from Gildarts." Warren pants, "Can I see the master?"

Wordlessly, she motions them in, shutting the door behind them. Makarov was leaning over the bed, with his hands on her shoulder before glancing up, "What's the news?"

"We found him." Warren says as he sits next to her, "He said he was doing a job so that he could get something to help. Natsu and the others stayed behind to help, and he sent me to Blue Pegasus to enlist Ren here to help. Gildarts says that Drain can help."

"That's risky." Porlyusica says, looking at him, "We would only be able to use it a few times before she would die from the spell. Maybe three times at the most. And if they don't get back in time, any chance they have of saving her disappears."

"With her in the state she's in, it wouldn't change much." Makarov says gravely, looking up at Ren, "Please…"

Nodding, he holds out his hands, "Drain!" a green ball of energy appears in the palm of his hands, landing square on her chest. Her breathing quickens considerably as a light green mist leaves her body, swirling around the room. Makarov waves his hand, and the magic in the air disappears.

"That should extend it by a few more hours." Porlyusica says as she looks over her, "With your help, we might be able to extend it by a day."

'They'll be back by then." Makarov sighs as he places a comforting hand on her shoulder, "Just hang on until then, Lisanna."

* * *

"Let's hurry." Gildarts says at seven o'clock the next morning, "We've got time for a quick breakfast before we get to it. Lisanna's waiting."

"Right." Natsu nods as he races down to the steps to eat, followed very closely by Mira and Erza. Happy, they decided, would sleep in. He wouldn't be much help against one of Zeref's demons, and Natsu was in no mood to put another friend in harm's way.

With a morning meal behind them, Gildarts lead the group to the forest to the north. As the distanced themselves from the city, the air grew thicker, and it became almost impossible to breath. Finally, they reached the point where Gildarts stopped suddenly, holding out his arms to stop them, "This is it. Any further and you'll lose most of your magic."

"Alright. What now?" Erza asks.

"I'll break down the barrier. The instant I do, you run in. You'll only have a fraction of a second before they reform, and if you aren't past by then, you'll likely not have time to stop before you pass through them, and today will have been wasted" Gildarts explains, "First, just watch. The barriers are invisible until activated or destroyed. I'll take them down a few times until you can get the timing down. After that, it's up to you guys."

"Right." Erza nods, looking straight ahead.

"Disassembly." Gildarts roars and a crisscross pattern flies out of his palm. A moment later, it stops in midair and for the briefest second a pale blue barrier appeared before falling apart. It returned almost at once and vanished again.

"This is going to be close." Erza sighs, "Mira, Transform now. I'll only be able to carry Natsu along with me and still make it past. Sorry, but you'll have to fend for yourself."

"It might be a good idea to make two trips." Natsu mutters, "The opening was small, and it's unlikely that all of us would be able to get through at once."

"That was actually pretty smart." Erza smiles, grabbing him by the scarf, "Requip!" With her armor changed to Black wing armor, she holds Natsu tightly under her arm and nods to Gildarts, who release another blast of disassembly magic. The instant it came in contact with the Barrier, Erza took off, flying with all possible speed towards it. The passed the barrier the instant that it went down.

"Good work." Gildarts nods, "Mirajane, You're next."

"Take Over: Satan Soul." She growls and the she devil appears. After a few more demonstrations, she made her attempt, and just barely made it.

"Alright. Now, just keep going straight, and you'll reach the vault. Once there, just wait. The demon will appear before long. DO NOT split up. This thing is strong enough to take any of you on your own. I'll keep experimenting on this barrier, but don't expect my help. Take it down and get back here. We should get out of here by tonight. No sense taking any chances with Lisanna's life on the line."

"Got it." Natsu nods firmly, "We'll crush that bastard."

"Like I said, be careful. I wasn't willing to risk going any further without my magic, and no one that's seen the demon has lived long enough to give any detail. You're going in blind, so watch you back."

"Understood." Erza says as she requips to her Heaven's wheel armor, "Let's move."

It was a slow walk, not because of distance, but because they were all on guard. The forest seemed eerie on this side, even more so than earlier. And, though it went unnoticed Natsu, the temperature increased each step forward.

Finally, they made it to the Vault. It was a plain looking stone face, with a lock on it. The entire area was surrounded by fire, and there were skeletons all over the place, some more charred than others, and several looked fresh, with skin still attached.

"It looks like we found it…" Mirajane says as she looks around, "Where is this demon? Wasn't it inside the vault?"

"It likely escaped during one of the many attempts against it." Erza mutters as she walks around the area, "Whatever it is, it looks like it'll be a fire demon."

"Something's off about these flames though." Natsu says as he walks over, placing a hand over them, "It's hot. It doesn't look any different than normal fire, but I can tell. Even I would get burned by these."

The three did as Gildarts recommended and stayed together, slowly covering the area. Despite that, there was no progress in after an hour.

"Where the hell is it?" Mira growls, punching a hole in a nearby tree. The tree topples from the force and crashes to the ground, elating a roar of disapproval from something underneath it. The trunk exploded into dark purple flames what seared them even at a distance. Behind it, a massive shape rose over them. It almost looked like Elfman's beast soul, only many times larger and covered in the purple fire. On its back was a pair of wings that almost blocked the sun out when fully extended.

"Had to jinx it." Erza sighs, "Let's go."

* * *

Next time is the fight against the demon, and Lisanna's fate is decided. R&R!


	3. The dad

Forever a Family Chapter 3

Here's the next chapter. Zeref's demon shows its stuff against three of Fairy Tail's best.

* * *

"Fire Dragon's roar!" Natsu yells spewing flames at it. Despite the power behind it, the demon made no effort to dodge, simply absorbing the flames and batting Natsu away.

Erza requips to her Flame Empress Armor and leaping forward, slashing at it without regard. Despite the strength of her swing, it doesn't seem fazed as it ignores her entirely, focusing instead on the pink haired slayer.

Mirajane sends waves of water, which caused it to roar in pain and send all three of them flying before reigniting its flames, along with a good portion of the forest.

"Damn he's tough." Natsu growls, sending another roar, which he absorbs as easily as he did before.

"That's to be expected." Erza says as she changes to her Heaven's Wheel armor, "If it weren't, this job would have been finished by now. Natsu, stay back for now. Your attacks will only make it stronger."

"What!?" He shouts, but stops from Mira's glare.

"Don't forget what's at stake here. Who kills this thing doesn't; matter, so just stay back until you figure out how to actually hurt this thing." She says as she focuses all of her strength into a massive whirlpool in the sky, "River of Sorrow!" the whirlpool shots towards it like an arrow, knocking it clear off its feet and extinguishing all the flames on its front.

"Requip! Purgatory armor!" Erza yells, and jumps onto it. Before it could relight its flame armor, she stabs into its chest with all of her strength. This time, it definitely felt the massive sword pierce its chest and let out a loud roar of pain. Its body suddenly ignited again, trapping Erza in the midst of the inferno. Erza continues, stabbing into it, trying to finish it while she had the chance. Unfortunately, it just wasn't possible.

After the third wound, its monstrous hand grabs her, snapping her sword like a twig before gripping her tightly.

"Erza!" Natsu shouts as Erza screams in the flaming death grip.

Mira tries to aid her friend with an intense wave of water, but, out of fear of hurting her even worse, the power was lessened considerably and it didn't even flinch before attacking her as well and sending her crashing into the Cliffside.

Natsu was left all alone to rescue one friend against a demon that seemingly couldn't be hurt by him. With Mira and Erza out of the picture, its attention turns to him, and the flames surround the two of them. Glaring at it, he looks over the surrounding area, trying to find some way to fight. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!" He shouts as he charges at it.

Its flames absorb the punch as easily as it had the earlier roar.

"Eat the fire!" Erza screams in pain, "Eat the flames and attack before it can regenerate!"

Nodding, he charges forward, and bites down on the demonic fire. It sears the back of his throat, but he continues to eat until there was an opening. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" he roars, and the ropes of fire connect dead on with the bare patch. It whines slightly before kicking Natsu back and sending him crashing through the forest. If nothing else, he managed to distract it long enough for Mira to get back in the game before he passes out.

* * *

_He was just a little boy, leaning up against a tree in the forest. He'd just been chased by a Vulcan that he still couldn't defeat. "Damn it!" he shouts, pounding into the tree trunk, "Why couldn't I beat it this time!?" in his frustration, he slams into the tree with a full hit, and something fall in his head, "OW!" he groans, clutching his head as he turned to see what had attacked him, only to find a white and blue egg, "Is this…. A Dragon egg!" Natsu laughs as he picks up the egg that was almost the size of himself and rushes back to the guild._

_"Hey, guys! I found a dragon egg!" he laughs, waving it in the air, "Hey gramps! Hatch it for me!"_

_"I'm afraid that magic can't help with that." Makarov smiles, "Only by raising the egg with love will it hatch for you."_

_"This might be a good thing for you, Natsu." Erza smiles from the corner, scaring both Natsu and Grey, "All you ever do is break things. Maybe hatching this egg will teach you some restraint." _

_"Well, since when have you ever known anything about restraint?" Mira smirks._

_"Mira. WE still haven't that little fight of ours, have we?" Erza glares._

_As the two of them fight, Natsu stares at the egg in frustration, "How the heck do I hatch this thing?"_

_"I think you just have to keep it warm for a while." Lisanna smiles, walking over to him. _

_"Right! Warm!" Natsu grins, lighting his hand on fire, "I've got just the thing."_

_"NO!" she yells, grabbing the egg out of his hands, "We want it to hatch, not cook!" taking Natsu's nonfiery hand, and drags him out of the guild, ignoring the struggle between the girls behind them, and leading him to the park, "We'll build a little house here and keep it warm."_

_"Okay!" Natsu grins, and starts throwing boulders until they were vaguely hut shaped, "All done! Is that good?!" just as he finishes the sentence, it collapse, "Okay, good thing we hadn't moved in yet!"_

_"I'll do it this time." Lisanna smiles, "Take over!" transforming into a giant rabbit, she quickly gets to work building a hut out of starw, "Well, that's that. Let's go inside."_

_"I don't think you'll fit." Natsu smirks as he picks up the egg. Lisanna pulls a grumpy face and turns back._

_"Are you calling me fat?" she glares._

_"No…." Natsu mutters, trying to find some place to escape. A minute later, they were both laughing and going into the house._

_"You know, it's almost like we're a family, huh?" Lisanna smiles after a few hours of talking, "You're the dad, and I'm the mom, and this little egg is our baby."_

_"Yeah." Natsu grins as he keeps the egg warm, "our little baby."_

_The next few days were among the happiest he could remember. He'd spend every day from dawn till duck with Lisanna, talking and taking turns keeping the egg warm until it was time to sleep, when they would place it between them and rest. The meals didn't hurt any either; Lisanna was a great cook. _

_As few days after, Lisanna asks, "Hey, Natsu? Where did you find this egg anyway?"_

_Picking up the egg with one hand, he helps her up, "In the forest. Come on, I'll show you."_

_About ten minutes later, they arrived at the tree where he'd taken cover from the Vulcan, "I was punching this tree, and it fell down." Natsu says as he takes the egg from Lisanna, and it starts moving again._

_As Lisanna looks up in the tree, Natsu turns to the sound of bushes rustling behind him. In front of him was the same Vulcan, on now he wasn't paying any attention to Natsu. His attention was focused solely on the egg._

_'Not good. These things eat eggs.' Natsu thinks as Lisanna notices. Handing her the egg, he placing himself between them, "Take the egg and get out of here!"_

_"I can fight too!" she protests._

_"I'm the dad." He growls, "And it my job to protect my family!"_

* * *

Natsu's eyes fly open. 'That's right' he thinks as he struggles to his feet as Mira is swatted away again, Erza still helpless in the demon's hand, 'Lisanna is counting on me. I won't let her down.' Staggering through the fire that still surrounded the demon, Natsu ignored the burning sensation as he lost himself in another memory.

_It was a few years after Happy had hatched. They'd been close friends ever since, but they did have an occasional fight, mainly over fish. After one such fight, neither of them was talking to the other until Lisanna came over._

_"Are you guys fighting again?" she huffs, hands on her hips._

_"Natsu ate my whole fish and didn't even ask me about it!" Happy cries._

_"Any fish I eat is your fish." Natsu counters._

_"Natsu, you're the dad." Lisanna smiles, "So you've got to take good care of your wife and son."_

_Blushing at the reminder of his childhood, Natsu stutters, "T-that was like a million years ago!"_

_"What are you guys talking about?" Happy asks._

_"It's normal for families to have a fight every once in a while. What's important is that you make up afterwards. No matter what happens, we're still a family."_

"That's right." Natsu says as he deeply inhales all of the fire surrounding him, "We're family. And I have to protect my family!"

A sudden burst of power ripped through his body. He'd never felt anything like it. The only thing that came close was during the battle against Brian after eating Jellal's Flame of Rebuke or Etherion. Without hesitation, he charges forward, dodging the demon's strikes easily and ramming his fist into its leg. With a howl of pain, it falls forward. With Erza in sight, Natsu jumps onto its shoulder, "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

This time, there was no absorbing it. The punch rips its arm clear off its body, sending Erza plummeting to the ground just as Mira arrives back on the scene,"Take care of Erza." He says as he advances towards the demon, "I'll handle this."

As the demon tries to flee, Natsu easily keeps pace with it and once they'd reached the edge of the barrier, Natsu took in a deep breath, inhaling more of its flames. They didn't burn this time, and Natsu wouldn't have cared if it did. All that mattered was killing this thing in time. "Fire Dragon's Roar!" he shouts as the flames rocket towards the demons back. It attempts to escape to the sky, but Natsu wasn't about to let him get away. "Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!" He yells as the flame ropes drag it back to the ground.

By now, it was struggling to get up. The wounds from Erza's sword strikes, Mira's water attacks, and all the damage that Natsu had inflicted had finally taken its toll. Climbing up on to its face, Natsu stands directly over its eye, "Sorry. It's nothing personal, but there's someone I have to save. Fire Dragon's Phoenix Blade!" the intense flame slices clean into its head, and all movement ceases.

Erza's body had long since become accustomed to the heat, or perhaps the top layer of her skin was too burned to feel anything anymore, but its punishing grip was something else. It felt as if every bone in her body was breaking all at once. Even she had her limit, and she was fast approaching it as Mira was sent flying for a second time. Even with her strongest Satan Soul, this demon was simply too much. All but resigned to her fate, she closes her eye to pray. The next moment, she could hear something running along the ground. Opening her eye s just a bit, she saw… Natsu?

It was certainly the pink haired slayer, but she'd only seen him like this once. After eating the etherion. When she recounted the incident to master Makarov, he said that it was called Dragon Force. But this was still something different. His skin gained a red-ish tint in addition to the scale pattern, and fire seemed to follow him wherever he went. But the most astonishing thing about him was the look in his eyes. Sheer determination. A look that she'd never seen in the young man before now. One thing was sure though. She'd never have a chance against him as he is now, even at her best. This is something else entirely.

Natsu charges at the demon, punching its leg without even using his magic. Despite that, the demon falls forward with a cry of pain. Acting quickly, Natsu jumps to its shoulder and uses the iron fist. Its strength was so great that even after being weakened by the flaming armor, it still ripped clean through the demons body, sending her and the entire arm crashing to the ground. Looking up she saw Mira flying towards her.

"Take care of her!" Natsu yells as he gives chase to the running demon, "I'll handle this!"

Mira transform to her basic Satan soul and rips through the finger keeping her imprisoned, "Thank you, Mirajane." She says thankfully, unable to move at all.

"Don't talk." She sighs, and a pale green light covers her hands, flowing gently along her body and healing the burns as it went, "You've got serious burns, and that's not even counting whatever internal injuries you've got."

"Don't worry about that." She growls, "Go help Natsu."

"You saw him, Erza." She says sharply, "He doesn't need our help right now. So I'll stay here and make sure that you don't die. Lisanna would never forgive me for placing her above our comrade."

Nodding weakly, Erza lays back and grunts as feeling returns to those areas that still have burns.

* * *

Natsu walks back to the group, his power dwindling with each step. He's met half way by Mira, who was supporting Erza.

"How'd it go?" Erza asks weakly.

"It's dead." Natsu mutters, "About five minutes' walk that way."

"Great." Erza says as she stands on her own, "Mira, I'll be fine. My legs aren't broken, so I'll walk, but Natsu needs help."

"If you're sure." Mira says nervously as she walks over to Natsu's side and helps him along.

Gildarts was waiting at the very edge of the barrier, pacing nervously, "How'd it go?" He asks as soon as he saw them.

"WE beat him." Natsu mutters.

"You beat him." Erza sighs, "Anyway, that's not the issue here. Go and get the client. We can't waste any time."

"I agree." Gildarts nods, "You guys stay there. I'll be back in just a few minutes to help you through."

"Alright." Mira says as she helps Natsu to the ground where he sits limply.

True to his word, it wasn't even three minutes before a magic mobile pulls into the forest, and Gildarts climbs out with an average looking business man, "As expected of Fairy Tail! You truly are the best of the best. Now, I just need to confirm the kill, and we'll be good to go."

"Any chance that you can give me the reward now?" Gildarts asks impatiently, "Our comrade needs that to survive, and time is of the essence."

"I'm sorry, but no." he answers, "It shouldn't take long for everything is done and you can be on your way, but after a long wait like this, I've had a couple of wizards claim that it was done just to try and get the reward without doing the job."

"Fine, but let's be quick." Mira growls, "Gildarts stay on that side. We'll need all the magic energy we can to get back."

"Right. You three take him to the body." Gildarts says as he walks away, "I'll get a rental. We wouldn't want you to steal another one."

"Right, well, Let's go." The client nods, following Mira and Erza back into the forest, leaving Natsu to rest at the very edge of barrier.

"Erza, I'll go." Mira says after a moment, "If it's just the two of us, I'll be able to fly faster than you can walk."

"Do you have the magic power for it?" Erza asks cautiously.

"Only one way to find out." She answers, "Take Over: Satan Soul!" With a purple flash of magic, she reappears on one knee, panting heavily, "Alright. Grab a hold of my arm. I've only got about five minutes of magic left."

"But we could just-"

"No. My sister's life is at stake here. I'm not risking anything here. If you won't give it to us now, I'll use whatever I have to to speed the process along." She cuts him off, and after a quick gasp, he grabs her arm and she shoots into the sky. It wasn't very hard to find. She just had to follow the charred remains of the forest to the end. Putting him down, she collapses again. Her magic was running out fast, "Please, hurry. I can't last much longer…"

He rushes over to the demon and grins, "Well done." He says, grabbing her arm again, "Let us go. I don't have the reward with me here, so we'll have to go back to my office."

"Fine." She grumbles, and takes off again. After landing by Erza, she faints from exhaustion, leaning onto her friends shoulder.

"You've done exceptionally well." The client says as Erza limps herself and Mirajane back towards the barrier.

"Natsu, can you stand?" Erza asks.

"Just a bit." He mutters, struggling to his feet, "But I doubt I'll be able to after we pass the barrier."

"Every bit helps." She answers, carrying them past the barrier before falling to a knee, "Those are strong. I can barely stay conscious."

"I'm truly sorry about that." The client says sadly, "I never dreamed that there would be a demon there, and I have no way of taking it down."

"Then why aren't you affected?" Natsu mutters as he tries to crawl to the client's car.

"Because they were created for me, none of them affect me, but once they were created, there was no way to alter them, and I'm not a fighter, so there was really nothing I can do."

"Can you drive us back?" Erza asks once they were all in the car, "With our magic the way it is now, we'd likely die before we got back."

"Of course. That's the very least I can do since I'm the reason you're in this state." He smiles attaching the magic draining device to his arm, "Since I understand that time is a luxury, we'll go at full speed. Buckle your seat belts; this is going to get rough."

They completed the twenty minute drive in less than five. Gildarts was already there with a green car, just waiting. He helped them into the car while the client rushed inside, returning a minute later with an ornate black box, which he handed to Gildarts, who opened it and nodded. "Thank you. I'd love to stay and chat, but…"

"Of course. The rest of the reward will be forwarded to your guild." He smiles, "I'll pray that you make it in time."

"Thank you." Gildarts nods, buckling in, "Natsu, come here for a second."

When Natsu leans in close, Gildarts knocks him out with a well aim punch to the skull, and he collapsed next to a sleeping happy that Gildarts had clearly picked up while waiting, "Erza, Mira, hold on tight. We're going full throttle the whole trip. Lisanna's running out of time."

With that sentence, He hit the gas, and shattered the speed of sound, roaring out of the city and across the countryside.

* * *

"How is she?" Makarov asks after returning from a quick rest,

"The Drain treatment seems to have slowed it somewhat, but she's still getting worse." She sighs, "It's progressing faster than I ever dreamed. Neither Mystogan nor myself ever made it this far this fast. I pray that Gildarts makes it in time. She could die tonight." Porlyusica says sadly.

"Gildarts isn't someone that will let you down." Makarov sighs, "He'll be here. I'm sure of it."

"Then we'll just have to make sure she lasts." Ren says from the chair in the living room, "I'm here for whatever you need."

"If we haven't heard anything in an hour or two, she'll have to be drained again." She says calmly, mixing up a potion, "This will have to be the last time though, and I can't say what adverse effect so many could cause. After that, it'll be down to luck."

"I understand." He nods, and the three wait in silence.

AN hour passed, then two, then three before Porlyusica finally decided to stop waiting, "Start the drain. We can't put if off any-"she was interrupted by the sound of tree crashing to the ground one after another, and the tiny tremors that come when the ancient trees in the center of the forest fall. Makarov rushes outside as a green car grinds to a halt.

"Master!" Gildarts shouts, jumping from the car, which was completely filled with mages that quite possibly had jetlag.

"You made it! Tell me you were successful!" Makarov says anxiously.

"Right here." He says handing him the box, "Thanks for sending the back up. I doubt I would have made it without their help."

Makarov opens the box. Inside was a clear lacrima, but in the center was a small silver dragon, "A dragon slayer lacrima… This will work."

Porlyusica grabs it out of his hand and stares at it intently, "I'm afraid not. This is a clear lacrima, like Laxus has. It'll naturally adapt itself to her own magic after a short time. However, after so many drains, I doubt she will have the endurance to last long enough for it to activate."

Both men gasp, and Gildarts nearly collapses right there, "this… this can't be…"

"I refuse to accept it!" Natsu yells from the car, struggling to stand, "There has to be something you can do!"

"There isn't." she glares, "She simply doesn't have the strength to survive that long. If this lacrima were already infused with magic, then it wouldn't be a problem, but the is simply no way for her to last long enough-"

"Then make it work!" he shouts, grabbing her by the cloak and shaking her, "You've got to do something!"

"There is a way." She says finally, "But it would be extremely dangerous in for current condition."

"Name it." He says at once.

She hands him the lacrima, "Infuse as much magic as you can into this. Your Dragon Slayer Magic should be able to charge it without being connected. Keep going until I tell you to stop. If you can do this, the lacrima would be able to save her by stabilizing her magic, but if you don't have enough, you'll die as well."

"That's a risk I'll have to take." Natsu says firmly, and channels his flames into the lacrima. Immediately, Natsu feels an overwhelming drain on his magic. Ignoring it, he keeps on focusing as the lacrima starts to change color.

"You're almost there!" Gildarts says hopefully as Natsu keeps going.

Another minute, and he felt like he was going to faint. But still he persevered. Lisanna was counting on him, and that was what matters.

Two minutes in, and he could barely keep himself conscious. He'd lost all of his other sense, and before long, he'd completely blacked out.

* * *

The entire guild hall was silent after Gildarts and Makarov walk in, every eye looking to them for news.

Gildarts pours them both a shot, and sighs, "She'll make it."

All around them, the guild cheers, and five different people offered to pay for drinks for the rest of the night.

"Natsu's devotion won out." Gildarts chuckles to the master, "I was really worried for a while there."

Makarov nods gravely, "I would have thought it was impossible, but he pulled it off. She'll be awake in a couple of days, and the others should wake tomorrow."

"Those wimps. We were only going a few hundred miles faster than the speed limit." Gildarts scoffs, looking around the guild, but completely missing Cana, who'd been staring at him intently, "Though I suppose that it's to be expected. I still want to know what happened with that demon."

"That makes two of us." Makarov smiles, "Still that's another achievement for you. Not many can say that they've finished a ten year quest."

"They finished the quest, not me. And if Erza is to be believed, Natsu did it himself."

"Really? Well, that'll be an interesting conversation." Makarov chuckles before joining the rest of the guild's party.

* * *

So, next chapter I'll be continuing the main story, so look forward to the S-Class trials. Until then, feel free to leave a review with whatever feedback you can.


	4. The S-Class Candidates

Forever a family Chapter 4

Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

'What's going on?' Natsu thinks as he slowly regains consciousness. All around him, he could hear voices muttering quietly. Opening his eyes, the first thing he notices was a few people talking in the corner of what he recognized as Porlyusica's Treehouse. Judging from the hair, he recognized Porlyusica, Erza, and Gildarts. There was also a young man that looked familiar, but he couldn't place from where, with dark skin and black hair.

"What's up, guys?" He asks, and all four of them jump.

"Natsu! You're up!" Gildarts smiles, walking over to his bed.

Yeah-" Natsu starts before being hit on the head with a broom.

"This is why I hate humans! Don't try and give me a heart attack, you ungrateful brat!" Porylusica glares, hitting him continuously until the broom snaps, "So, you're up?"

"Yeah…" Natsu groans, rubbing his head. At that moment, the memory of everything that happened hit him like a ton of bricks, "Lisanna! Is she okay? What happened?" he shouts, getting hit on the head by Gildarts this time.

"You idiot. Do you think we'd be worrying about you if she wasn't?" he smirks, "You saved her, Natsu."

"Her fever's gone down, and it looks like she'll be awake in a couple of days." Erza says happily, "It looks like she'll make a full recovery."

"That's great." Natsu sighs, "That's really great. What about you, Erza?"

"My wounds were barely even worth mentioning." She shrugs, "Wendy had me fixed up in less than ten minutes."

"Right now, Mira's going to get some sleep." Gildarts adds, motioning to a bed on the other side of the room, 'Otherwise, I'm sure she'd have something to say to you. You have no idea how thankful she was when she heard what you did."

"It was nothing, really." He blushes, "Lisanna's family."

"Well, let's get on with your final check up." Porylusica glares, "that way, you can stop filling up my house!"

"Aye Sir!" he chants in a very Happy like way.

Five minutes later, he was cleared to leave, and was promptly cased from the house along with the others.

"She didn't need to run us off…" the dark skinned man mutters, "Well, Gildarts, Erza, Natsu, I'll be heading back."

"I can't thank you enough for everything, Ren." Gildarts nods, "I've already had your reward sent to the guild."

"Thanks." He nods, walking back towards the forest path.

"Natsu, We're going to the guild." Gildarts says as he drags Natsu with him, "The master wants to talk to you, and everyone's been worried."

"Alright, but I want to wait with Lisanna…" he grumbles as he's lead away.

"And you can." Erza says calmly, "You'll be able to come back in just a little while."

"Fine." He sighs as the three of them walk back towards Magnolia.

* * *

"My lord." The black haired woman bows aboard an airship far from the guild, "The demon that was sealed outside of Ozuma has been killed."

"Oh?" The eyepatched man on the throne says in mild surprise, "Impressive. Was it Lamia? I only know of Jura who would have the strength required for such a thing and still takes missions."

"It is my understanding that it was a Fairy Tail wizard by the name of Gildarts Clive." She replies.

"Ah… Yes. Makarov has quite the impressive subordinate. I have heard the name Gildarts before. Well, that could make our next operation far more difficult if he's there." He says thoughtfully, "Bring Bluenote and Azuma."

"Yes, Master Hades." She bows, walking form the room.

With the throne room all but empty, he continues to ponder this event. 'Zargoth was far from weak; said to have been on par with Deliora. Despite that, Gildarts was able to defeat him? How?'

"Archive." He says, and with a swipe of his hand brought up the terminal, "Fairy Tail roster; Gildarts Clive." Searching through the massive amounts of Data he had acquired over his years of searching along with all the rumors, stories and facts regarding every member of Fairy Tail.

"Gildarts Clive. Age forty-five. A Grade-A master of Crash Magic and Grade-C master of Disassembly, currently the most Famous member of Fairy Tail, their Ace. Joined at the age of twenty one, becoming an S-class mage two years later by overwhelming the competition without effort. His wife, Cornelia died twelve years ago of natural causes, leaving behind a daughter. Not confirmed to be Gildarts'. The oldest of three children, both of his sisters were killed eighteen years ago by culprits unknown, along with most of their families. Since joining, he has completed fifteen ten-year quests, along with countless S-class jobs and has undertaken the hundred year quest. Throughout these jobs, he has continued to search for the identity of his sisters' killers.

Widely considered the best candidate for Fourth Master, he has repeatedly refused the position in favor of continuing his search. His name has been brought up on over twenty occasions as a candidate for one of the ten wizard saints. The only reason he has not been granted the title being that he was never anywhere to be found by the council's representative. Current abilities are unknown following serious injuries taken during the hundred year quest, including the loss of his left arm and leg." He reads from the screen, "Well, that will have to be changed. If he could defeat Zargoth, he's is still very much a force to be reckoned with."

There was a knock on his door, and he says, "Enter."

Ultear returned, along with a dark skinned mage with wild hair and a tall man with a long black ponytail. This man's very presence seemed to make the air itself heavy. Releasing a blast of magic to counter it, he turns to them, "Azuma, Bluenote. There have been a few changes to the operation."

"Very Well." Azuma bows.

"Azuma, A fairy Tail wizard named Gildarts Clive could potentially be a problem. While I have no doubt that we would prevail despite that, he is strong enough to bring down the entire Seven Sins on his own, and i would rather not have to waste my time with him and Makarov. Thus, if at all possible, we will postpone the operation to give him a chance to leave the island. If he does not leave by night fall on the first day, Bluenote, your mission will be to find him, and kill him. Only afterward will we begin. We cannot risk fighting him and Makarov at once. Even I would not be able to stand against them both."

"As you wish." Bluenote says calmly,.

"I will give the both of you a copy of all of my files regarding him. Azuma, use this to ensure you've found the right man. Bluenote, I will include for you all known fights, along with patterns, habits, and general estimation of abilities." Hades says as he taps at the Archive screen, "Archive: Download."

Two loading bars appear over their heads, and a moment later, they disappeared, "Use this time to prepare. He will not be easy." Hades warns, before turning to Ultear, "Issue the Order. Set a course or Tenrou Island."

* * *

Natsu walks into the guild hall, which had returned to its usual noisy self after Lisanna was saved. Erza whistles loudly, calling the entire guild's attention. All eyes were on the slayer until Elfman stood up and started clapping and cheering. Before long, Grey and Lucy joined, and the entire guild started giving him a standing ovation. Elfman runs over and starts crying into his shoulder, thanking him for saving Lisanna, and some of the guys start patting him on the back and congratulating him.

"Natsu." The master says after fighting his way through the crowd, "Welcome back."

"Thanks gramps!" he smiles.

"There is an awful lot that we need to talk about, but for now, I'll just say congratulations and Kinana will give you your share of the reward from the last quest. Erza, Gildarts, a moment, please?"

The red haired mage nods and follows him into the back room with Gildarts while the other members start pestering Natsu for all the details of his fight.

"Well, I just kinda got my ass kicked…" Natsu starts sheepishly, "But then I remember that Lisanna was counting on me, and I got up. I remember getting a sudden burst of power and then I just started beating it until it was dead."

Damn it, you pyro." Grey smirks, "You're the only one that could make killing a demon look lame."

"It's still more than you've ever done." Cana counters, "Also, your clothes?"

Grey looks down at his boxer clad self and starts frantically looking for his clothes.

"Still, I couldn't believe it when Mira and Erza said that you killed it." Macao smirks, "When the hell did you become such a badass?"

"Obviously when he decided to be a **man**!" Elfman roars, "I never doubted him for a second!"

"Except for that hour where you were going on about how Natsu was going to screw everything up and that the master should have sent you instead?" Wakaba laughs before being flattened by Elfman's beast arm.

"That never happened!" he shouts, blushing furiously, "You're just jealous that Natsu's more of a **man **than either of you!"

"Hey, I've got a wife you know!" Wakaba says as he gets to his feet and begins to use his smoke magic.

"Then stop hitting on my sister!" Elfman shouts, hitting him again, and starting yet another full on Fairy Tail style brawl.

* * *

Erza sat across from the Master's desk, with Gildarts at her right, and waits until he sat across from them. "I'm sure that you two can guess why I called you in here." He says calmly, pulling out a bottle of wine from his desk along with three glasses.

"It's got something to do with Natsu." Gildarts says as he accepts the glass.

"Correct. Mira made a request of me after what happened yesterday, and I want to here your thoughts on it." Makarov nods, "Mira felt, that in light of the events of the last few days, including defeat the demon, saving Lisanna, and rescuing Erza during the fight, that Natsu has shown sufficient progress to warrant immediate promotion to S-class."

"I'll second it." Erza smiles, "He's made great strides. Not only this last mission, but during the Tower of Heaven incident, the Battle against Orchion Seis, and even before that with Phantom Lord. With all that work, it would be a wonder if he failed the S-class exam. This last battle really drove home that fact though. That thing had me and Mira completely outclassed, and Natsu crushed it seemingly without even trying."

"I can't speak too much of Natsu's skills." Gildarts says thoughtfully, "I haven't seen him much in years, and it's been even longer since I've seen him fight at full strength. But one of the most important qualities for an S-class wizard is strength of character. After what he was willing to do to save Lisanna, I'd say he's got that in spades. The kids got my approval, no doubt."

Makarov nods, "Mira made much the same argument. I agree that he has certainly earned a place in the exam this year, no question about that, but I cannot decide whether he deserves an immediate promotion. Never in the history of this guild has one become an S-Class without passing, and it will take some consideration before I make that decision. I will announce my answer when I announce the participants in four days' time."

"understood." Erza nods, "Am I to assume that this is to be kept a secret?"

"Yes. While I'm sure that some among the guild are already expecting it, Natsu likely isn't one of them, unless I've seriously misjudged the boy. No reason to get his hopes up. I'm hoping to talk with him and Lisanna after she wakes. And Mira as well. Erza, I trust that you can make sure they know?"

"Of course." She nods.

"Excellent. Now, onto the next order of business. Who else do you feel deserves to enter the exam?"

"Grey and Lucy." Erza answers, "They were with Natsu during the three incidents I mentioned earlier, and each played a crucial part in them."

"Cana." Gildarts adds, "She's a veteran, and I truly believe that this could be her year if Natsu's out of the running."

"Cana, Lucy, and Grey." Maakrov nods, "All three have certainly earned their chance. Approved. Any others?"

"Juvia." Erza says after a moment, "She may have been an enemy during the Phantom incident, but since then she's proven herself among the most loyal wizards Fairy Tail has seen. During the Fantasia battles, she sacrificed herself rather than hurting Cana, even though under the circumstances she would have been more capable of doing so."

"Juvia… I'll consider her." He says calmly, writing the names down.

"Mest. With Mystogan gone, his apprentice might be ready to claim the title." Gildarts replies, "Also, Freed."

"Mest I'll have to consider as well, he didn't fare so well last time, but Freed has earned it. What are your thoughts on Levy?"

"She's got guts, but does she have the strength for it?" Gildarts wonders aloud, "her solid script is strong, but I can't help but think that she wouldn't be able to cope with the missions."

"What she lacks in power, though, she makes up for with tactics and knowledge." Erza counters, "I believe she's likely second only to Master Makarov in terms of knowledge within the guild."

"Thank you both." He smiles, "With your input, I'm sure that we'll have a successful exam this year. I hope I can trust you two to participate?"

"Trying to thin out the competition?" Gildarts grins as he hands back his empty glass.

"Well, no reason to make it too easy." He smirks back, waving them from the room.

* * *

Lisanna's head felt like it was on fire as she slowly opens her eyes. The first thing that she sees in the dimly lit room is the face of her childhood friend. His eyes were closed, sound asleep, just like he was all those years ago when they were keeping Happy's egg warm.

"Natsu!" She yells, grabbing him into a hug and making him jump.

"Lisanna?!" He grins, hugging her back, "Thank god you're alright!"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asks, confused.

"You almost died." Porlyusica says frankly, glaring at the pair of them as she walks into the room, "And I would appreciate it if you could keep it down in the middle of the night, inside of someone else's house!"

"I almost died?" she says blankly, "What? How? That job wasn't anything dangerous."

"Magical Blastback." She answers, stirring a few more potions, "It's an exceedingly rare condition that to my knowledge, has only been observed twice before your case. As you know, the people of Edolas do not have magic within their bodies. Those who come from Earthland the way that you did retain that magic for a time, though they are unable to use it. Over a period of several weeks, your magic was slowly drained away, and you were left in a very sick state."

"I remember…" she grumbles, "it was a month and a half after I first came to Edolas. I'd been feeling weak for a while, and then I just collapsed. Mira thought I had a bad case of the flu."

"A very common reaction. For someone of your power, that's a normal assessment." Porlyusica nods, "The effect would be roughly the same as the magic called Drain, though it would be spread out over a long period of time instead of moments. After all but a tiny portion of the magic had been expunged and your body had adapted to the lack of magic, you would have recovered just fine, and stayed that way for the remainder of your life."

"Then what's the problem?" she asks fearfully, looking to Natsu for comfort.

"That is only the case if you remained in Edolas, where you would not be exposed to the same level of magic as you would here. When you returned, your body, which had adjusted to a lack of magic, was bombarded by the inherent magic of this world. Unfortunately, after so long, your body wasn't able to cope with it, and started shutting down. It was all Makarov and I could do to keep you alive until help came."

"What happened?" She says, slightly calmer.

"Your friend here saved you." She replies with the slightest of smiles, "As I understand it, he took on a ten year quest and killed one of Zeref's demons in order to obtain the item you need, and when we feared it wouldn't work, he risked his life again to make sure that it did."

"Natsu?" she gasps, amazed that he would do such a thing.

"I'd do it again too." He says with a smile, "I already lost you once. I'm not going to let it happen again."

"By retrieving and charging the Dragon Lacrima, which I implanted in you, he gave you an internal source of magic that was already adjusted to Earthland. This severely lessened the strain on your body while it underwent the long process of readjusting itself." Porlyusica explains as she hands her a vial of a clear potion, "This will aid in the process, if only slightly."

"Thank you." She smiles, "so what now?"

"Well, you're free to leave in the morning, but I'll tell you this now. For the next ten days, do not use magic. Using a Dragon Lacrima to prevent a Blastback has been considered since Mystogan, but it's never been tested. I can't say whether or not it will be safe for you before then. To be safe, just don't."

"Alright." She nods.

"You said that Mystogan did this too?" Natsu asks.

"He was one of the two. Before he came to Earthland, he apparently studied our world extensively, and created a drug that slowed the progression of symptoms long enough to spare him. They also had a side effect of allowing an Earthland mage their magic in Edolas. He called them X-Balls. Unfortunately, he never told me the formula, so there was nothing I could do to make one in time to help you."

"Who was the other one?" Lisanna asks, and she glares back, "Right. Sorry. Forget I asked."

After a long moment, she answers, "It was me."

"You?" Natsu gasps.

"Yes me. It has been a very long time, but I once came from Edolas." She glares, "I wasn't as lucky as you two. There wasn't any known way to help me when I went through it. By some miracle, I survived, but magic is now forever beyond me." Turning to Natsu, she says, "Now that that is out of the way, why don't you go and get her brother and sister? You might be confident in your skills, but I do not want to see her sister angry."

The thought of an angry Mira scared Natsu more than anything, so after says a quick 'be right back' to Lisanna, he charges out the door.

"You'd best get some rest for now." Porlyusica says calmly, "The next few days are going to be rough, so you'll want to take it easy. And I can't stress this enough; no magic."

"I understand." Lisanna nods, laying back in her bed and thinking about everything she'd heard. Many times while she was in Edolas, especially at the beginning, she would replay that final scene with Elfman in her dreams, on this time Natsu would be there, rushing in to save her. Before, all that seemed like just a stupid fairy tale, but now, she couldn't help but feel happy that he was willing to protect her. 'after all, he is the dad.' She giggles to herself as she looks back on those days with a smile.

* * *

The next two days flew by in peace. Well, as peaceful as Fairy Tail can be anyway. There were a few brawls, but Elfman, Mira, or Natsu always made sure that she was out of the line of fire before that happened. The master had called her in to talk the day after she'd been released. He couldn't stop smiling throughout the conversation, which was mostly focused on Natsu, but also expressed his relief that she was recovering nicely, even saying that he was looking forward to next week (Whatever that means) even more knowing that she would be alright.

Next, he called in Natsu, who apparently was forced to retell his whole story to the master and to her as well, since neither of them heard it. It really made her happy to know that Natsu cared enough about her to fight a demon, though she blushed when he mentioned that he thought of her before the final battle.

The last conversation was with Mira, who seemed to have been expecting it. It wasn't a very long talk, either, and five minutes later, the master called the guild together.

"Alright, everyone, Gather around!" he smiles from the stage sometimes used for Gajeel's impulsive rock concerts, "It's time to announce the participants in the S-Class advancement exam!"

The crowd starts talking at once, as Erza, Gildarts, and Mira climb onto the stage and stand beside him.

"Oh yeah, I've been waiting for this!" Grey smirks, punching his palm.

"This is my year!" Natsu grins, looking up at the stage and waiting for the master to call out the names.

"Now then, I've been observing how each of you have progressed throughout the last year, and I've based my choice on those who, in my opinion and the opinion of the fellow S-class mages, best exemplify the qualities necessary for an S-class. This year, eight wizards will compete on the Guild's holy ground: Tenrou Island!"

Again, the crowd starts talking. It had been years since the exam was held on the island.

"These eight wizards are: Grey Fullbuster!-"

"Damn right!" Grey smirks.

"Cana Alberona!-"

Cana just sighs and looks at him dejectedly.

"Mest Gryder!-"

Mest looks up from the shoe he was eating to nod in acknowledgement.

"Freed Justin!-"

"I shall take Laxus' place among the elite." Freed firmly declares.

"Elfman!-"

"I'll show you how a real **Man** does it!" Elfman roars.

"Juvia Lockser!-"

"What? Me?" Juvia gasps, looking over at Grey with a blush.

"Levy McGarden!-"

"Wait what?!" she says in disbelief.

"And Lucy Heartfilia!"

Lucy just stood in utter shock, "Why me!?"

The whole guild starts muttering, not about who was named, but who wasn't. Makarov's smiles grew wider as he continued, "As many of you have no doubt noticed, I left out one of our most promising young mages. Natsu Dragneel, Please come up to the stage."

Natsu looks around, as if expecting someone to explain, but no one did, and he jumped up.

"After conferring with the other S-class mages, it was unanimously decided that you will be granted and immediate promotion to S-class in recognition of your stupendous achievements over the course of the last year, not the least being you heroism in rescuing two S-Class mages and completing a ten year quest all under your own power to rescue Lisanna." Makarov says as he places a hand on Natsu's shoulder. The entire guild explodes into cheers, and not even grey denies that he deserves the promotion. The only one arguing about it is, surprisingly, Natsu.

"I just did what anyone would have done." He mutters.

"True, but no one else **could** have done it." Erza counters, "If it wasn't for you, chances are that me, Mirajane, and Lisanna wouldn't be here right now. Just accept the position. Everyone in the guild knows that you've earned it."

"Fine." He mutters, moving to stand next to Gildarts.

Welcome to the elites, Natsu." Gildarts smiles, patting him on the back and sending him flying, "Whoops. Forgot about my magic."

With Natsu clearly unconscious in the back of the guild hall, Makarov shrugs and moves along, "One week from today, each particiaptant and their chosen partner should be in Hargeon, where we will take a ship bound for Tenrou Island. As always, an S-class mage cannot be chosen as our partner, so don't bother trying to bribe Gildarts."

"I wouldn't say it would be useless though…" Gildarts start before being hit on the head by Miraa.

"This year, all current S-Class mages will be taking part, so you'd be best prepared."

"We're doomed." Lucy whines.

"Not quite." Grey mutters, "Don't forget that includes Natsu as well. I might not like my chance against Erza or Gildarts, but Natsu and Mira I might actually stand a chance against."

"Grey, you can say that if you want, but you didn't see Natsu." Mira smiles so evilly, it might have been Satan soul, "He could have outfought Gildarts if he wanted to."

"No need to make fun of me." Gildarts says in mock sadness, "But don't worry about a thing. I promise that I'll try to hold back."

"Definitely screwed." Levy shudders.

* * *

So, next chapter is the start of the S-Class exams. Obviously, one way or another, Gildarts is going to play a pretty big part in this story.

EJ, go ahead. I don't really mind if you use my ideas as long as you credit them to me. And let me know if you decide to post it. I'd love to read.

Feel free to leave some feedback.


	5. First Date

Okay, it's been a while, but here's chapter 5. Hopefully future chapters will be faster. I couldn't think up anything for the date. Ideas would be appreciated, as it will make future date chapters go by much quicker.

* * *

Natsu pants softly against a tree in the center of Northern Magnolia forest, which was known for its vicious packs of monster. He'd been here for most of the last two days, ever since the announcement. Not only did it help him train, but it gave him some time to think.

'Why me?' he wonders while taking a short break from beating all monsters senseless. That was almost all he thought about, with the occasional thought about Lisanna.

Lisanna. Honestly, as happy as he was about the promotion, the simple fact that she was alive and well was worth far more. 'I can't keep going like this.' he thinks as he stands up tall, 'I need to be stronger. I need that power.'

"Natsu?" a soft voice says from behind him, and Lisanna walks into the clearing.

"Lisanna?" he gasps. "What are you doing here? It's dangerous!"

"I came looking for you." she smiles, "And it isn't all that dangerous when I've got an S-class mage protecting me."

"I'm not really an s class." he grumbles, "compared to the others, I'm nothing special."

"That's not true." She snaps angrily, making him jump, but smile all the same. He hadn't heard that tone in years, "Natsu, you are special. You are deserving of the promotion, or the master wouldn't have given it to you."

"I got it because I did what anyone in there would have done given the chance." he counters, "How does that make me worthy?"

"Because it captured **ERZA **and had Mira completely pinned down." she glares, "So, just to be clear, you crushed a monster that had already beaten two S-class mages."

"It was a fluke." he sighs, 'I've been trying, but I can't tap into that power anymore."

"Then a few more flukes like that, and you'll beat Gildarts." she smirks.

"That's not going to happen." he grins, "That old guy's stronger than the devil himself."

"What does that make the master?" she asks.

"God?" Natsu answers questioningly, and both start laughing.

"Natsu?" asks tentatively, "Can I ask you for a favor?"

"Go ahead." he nods, "I'll help however I can."

"In a couple of days, after I'm all healed up, and can use magic again, would you help me practice?" she blushes, "Porlyusica says that with the Dragon Lacrima, I'll have dragon slayer magic, so I thought I'd ask you for the help..."

"Sure." he grins, "it'll be nice to have another Dragon slayer around. Maybe you can help me look for Igneel sometime?"

"Sounds fair." she nods.

During an awkward moment of silence, Natsu begins an internal debate. 'Ask her out! No, she might reject you! You'll never know unless you try! It'll be better not to know if she doesn't return your feelings! Fairy Tail wizards don't run!' That last counter won the argument and he opens his mouth nervously.

"Um..."

"Um..." Lisanna says as the same time, and both look at each other in surprise. "You first." she blushes.

"No, you first." he mutters.

After another second of silence, she sighs, "Maybe after the exam, we could do something?"

'Holy crap. She's asking you out!' both sides of his brain cheer. Nodding, he smirks, "I was going to asks you that. But why wait? Why not tonight?"

"Well, I thought that you might be too busy getting ready for the exam..." she says quietly.

"Well, I've done enough training for now." he says with a wide smile, "Shall we?"

"Let's." she nods, grabbing his arm and walking out of the forest.

"She lllllllllllikes you!" a poorly disguised bush says as they pass.

Stopping, Natsu smirks, "I'll handle this one. Fire Dragon's iron Fist."

* * *

"And then, Happy ran off with his tail still on fire!" Lisanna giggles as she retells the story to Mira, who seemingly hadn't heard much of it.

"So... Natsu's taking you on a date..." she mutters grimly, her magic swirling around her, "Master! I'm taking my break now!"

Grabbing her arm, Lisanna glares, "Don't you dare."

"What?" she asks in mock innocence, "Don't tell me that you thought I would actually try and maim your friend/Boyfriend so he couldn't go out tonight!"

"I wouldn't put it past you!" Macao laughs from a nearby table.

"And if you ever want to go out again, you'll keep out of this." she hisses, and the purple flames mage runs from the guild hall, "Okay, I'll admit that I would have done that before, but I think he's earned at least one date without sibling reprisal. We'll wait and see, and then we might maim him."

"Only if he's not **Man** enough!" Elfman says from the backroom, where he was helping Kinana with packing some crates of supplies for the S-class exam.

"Then why are you taking your break?" she asks suspiciously.

"Because you don't have anything to wear." she smiles, "And as your older sister, it is my job to make sure you look your best."

"Oh..." Lisanna blushes, "I hadn't thought about that..."

"Of course not." Mira grins as she takes off her apron, "That's another one of my jobs. Now, let's just stop by the house and pick up my money, and find you something that'll make Natsu's jaw drop."

"Thanks." she smiles.

"What time is your date?" Mira asks.

"I'm meeting Natsu at five."

"Four hours... well, I've done miracles before." she nods, dragging Lisanna towards Magnolia's shopping district.

* * *

Natsu nervously paces outside of his house trying to come up with some sort of plan for tonight. Sure, he'd managed to set up the date, but he was no closer to working out the details then he had been when he was still debating whether or not to ask her.

"You llllike her!" Happy says from the second floor window.

"Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" he glares as the cat ducks for cover, "And don't think that you're safe because you're in my house. I know where you hide your fish."

"You wouldn't!?" Happy gasps, peaking out the window again.

"I might." Natsu smirks, looking towards the trees where Happy had buried a chest full of magically preserved fish, "So, are you going to back off?"

"Maybe..." he grins, flying to the chest.

"Good enough." Natsu nods.

"Well, I'm shocked." Gildarts says as he walks up to the pink haired slayer, "To think that you actually got up the nerve to ask Lisanna out."

"What's it to you?" Natsu says roughly.

"No need to be hasty." he laughs, "Just thought that I'd offer you a bit of help. Let me guess... you can't think of anything special to do, you've got nothing to wear, and you're worried that Lisanna won't enjoy herself?"

"Yeah..." Natsu grumbles, "Am I that easy to read?"

"Well, only because I know you so well." he admits, "So, you want some help?"

"Yes..." he sighs, barely audible.

"Good." Gildarts smirks, "First thing you need, and I'll help you with. Happy, you're staying home tonight."

'What?!" Happy groans, "Why!?"

"Because if Natsu sees you, he'll tell me, and I'll make sure it doesn't happen again." He says angrily, "This is their time, and you have no place interfering. It's all well and good to tease them while they're in public, but in something like this, let them be."

"Fine..." happy moans, "But what am I supposed to do the whole time?"

"How about you and I go fishing? That way, I can be sure that you aren't going to get in their way and we might have some fun."

"Yeah! Fish!" Happy says with a happy dance, "I'll go prepare my special bait!"

"Great. Next, Natsu, you need some new clothes."

'What's wrong with my clothes?" he glares.

"Nothing, but you really want to make a good impression, what with Mira and everything. Saving Lisanna's probably bought you the benefit of the doubt, but that won't stop her from tearing you limb from limb over the smallest thing." Gildarts says grimly, "So, that brings us back to the clothes. We haven't really got time to get anything really fancy, but we might be able to find something if we hurry. Worst case, we get grey to dress up. He'll strip eventually and you can borrow them."

"Let hope not. Stripping might be contagious." Natsu jokes, making the older man laugh as well.

"Come on. We'll look at a few places while we're out, and you can pick one for your date."

* * *

"He's late…" Mira growls as she stares holes in the door to the guild hall.

"He is not late." Lisanna sighs, "It not even four-thirty yet."

"He's still late." She replies, "doesn't he know that he's supposed to wait on you, not the other way around?"

"And I'm sure that he would." Makarov chuckles, "If you hadn't gotten Lisanna ready two hours before they were supposed to meet."

"What's the commotion about?" Gildarts asks, walking into the hall.

"Natsu's late for his date with Lisanna." Mira growls.

"I thought it wasn't until five?" Gildarts says, looking to Lisanna, who nods, "So, he's still got, what, forty minutes?"

"HE'S LATE!" Mira bellows, making them all wince.

"Who's late?" Natsu says, rushing into the hall after hearing Mira's outburst.

"YOU!" she roars, grabbing him by the suit jacket, "YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN HERE EARLIER!"

"But it isn't even five!" Lisanna and Natsu both mutter.

"Calm down." Erza says, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, "He's here, and that's what's important."

"Yeah, Mira." Lisanna sighs, "Well, are you ready?"

"Ready whenever you are." He grins, holding out his arm, "You look great."

And she did. She was wearing an outfit similar to what she wore while in Edolas, a pale blue dress with white trim, but it was clearly of a higher quality. She wore a small pendant with what looked like a diamond in front of a red Fairy Tail mark.

"Thank you." She blushes slightly, takin his arm, "You don't look too bad yourself."

He had a modest dark blue suit, and the ever present Igneel scarf wrapped around his neck.

"Take care guys." Gildarts waves as they leave the guild hall, "hey, Mira, can you get me some drinks?"

"Ask Kinana." She says as she takes off her apron, "I've got something else to do."

As she walks towards the door, a blast of magic caught her attention, and she jumps out of the way.

Gildarts had his hand out, glowing bronze with his magic, "Don't Mira." He warns, "Leave them be."

"Gildarts…." She growls threateningly, her purple magic swirling around her like a whirlpool, "don't even try."

"You're not going after them." He says firmly, standing up from the barstool he had been in, "Those kids are going to have a good time, and I'm not going to let you spoil that for them. Your desire to protect her is wonderful, but she not the weak little girl that needs you to fight her battles for her anymore. Natsu isn't either. They'll be fine on their own."

By now, Mira was in full Satan soul mode, an attack charged in her hand, glaring daggers at the most powerful mage in the guild. Everyone else had run for cover the moment they started arguing. Even the maser looked weary. Ignoring her glare, Gildarts dashes around her, placing himself between her and the exit.

"Move." She says as she brings out her full power, the dark magic filling the air, making it almost too difficult to breathe.

In response, Gildarts unleashes his full might, and the entire guild starts to quake, "Not happening. They're date is lasting until nine o'clock. Until then, I'll keep you company."

And so, the battle began.

* * *

That was great." Lisanna says as she and Natsu leave the restaurant where they'd just finished a nice dinner, "I always wanted to eat there before, but I never got the chance."

"I know." He smiles, "remember? I told you that I'd treat you after you got back from that mission with Mira and Elfman. I thought tonight was a good night to do that."

"Well it was." She says holding his arm tightly, "So, where to next?"

"Well, I had one idea…" he mutters, "but you might think it's childish."

"I'm sure it'll be fun." She counters, shaking his arm, "Let's go!"

"Alright." He grins, leading her toward the southern gate. It was a bit of a walk, but it was such a lovely night that neither of them minded too much. Finally, Natsu found the place he was looking for.

The Magnolia City Zoo.

It was just a small petting zoo when Lisanna was here before, but now it was a huge exhibit filled with animals from all over the world. More than once, he'd come here while she was gone and think of her.

Lisanna's eyes widened as she saw the zoo, "What happened to this place? I just remember coming here with Mira and playing with the animals. That was why I learned animal takeover instead of something else."

"I know." He smiles, "About a year ago, they got together the money to expand out of just a petting zoo. Now, people come just to visit. It's been a huge hit. They get a new animal about once a month."

"Wow…" she gasps as Natsu gets them two tickets. The inside was as incredible as she thought it would be. They had everything from Vulcan to Snakes, and even a mechanized exhibit of a dragon. Given its appearance, Natsu probably had something to do with that. Just about the only animal that she knew of not on display were exceed, and that's not difficult to figure out why, since they've only been in Earthland for about a week.

The two looked at every exhibit at least once. Some were left over s from the petting zoo days, including a giant rabbit that was the basis for her rabbit soul, and others she'd never even heard of. Among those was a three legged lizard that ran up walls. Part of her was curious if she would be able to come back when she could use her magic and get a few new animal souls.

"Natsu?" someone asked from behind them, "Is that you? I haven't seen you in a while."

"Sup, old dude." Natsu grins, looking back at the elderly man that she remembered used to run the petting zoo. His face was as wrinkled as ever, with his clear green eyes and wide smile. Just about the only thing that changed since the last time was the thin streak of black hair had turned silver.

His eyes look at him, and then her, where they grow wide, "It… it can't be…" without waiting for an answer, he ran over and looked into her eyes, when he started tearing up, "I'd heard the rumors…. But I never thought it was actually true…. Lisanna…"

"It's been a long time." She smiles, "I see that you've expanded."

"Indeed we have." He laughs, "And every animal is treated with the same respect they were shown before. I still remember the first time I met you. It was just after I opened the petting zoo. You were one of my first customers."

"I remember." She blushes, "I was first in line for the bunny ride."

"That you were." He nods, "and then when you got off, you stormed over to me and started yelling at me for not taking good care of the rabbit, listing off everything I need to do it make him feel better."

"Sorry about that…" she says sheepishly, trying to hide her face.

"No need to apologize." He says happily, "I took your advice, and it worked like a charm It was far more enjoyable, not only for the patrons, but for me as well."

"I'm glad." She smiles, looking at all the happy animals, "Everyone seems to be having a great time."

"Indeed.' He says happily, looking around, "Well, enough of that. What are you two doing here at this hour?"

Both of them blush slightly and try to stutter out what they were doing here, but it didn't really make any sense. Finally, he pieced it together for himself and patted Natsu on the back, "Finally made you move? Well, it's about time. I think that you two were the only ones that couldn't see it."

"What are you talking about?!" Lisanna says, face red from embarrassment.

"There's no reason to be shy." He chuckles, "Well, you two might want to get ready and go. It's almost nine, and the zoo is about to close. The animals need their sleep, after all."

"I was the one that told you that." She huffs, and he starts laughing again. Both of them chuckle as well before leaving the zoo and heading back towards the guild hall.

* * *

"Evil blast!" Mira growls, sending another sphere of energy at Gildarts, who swats it aside like it was nothing. Jumping forward, he pummels her, face first, into the ground.

"Mira!" Elfman growls, jumping back into the fight following Gildarts last knockout punch on him. He was in full beast takeover, but regardless, it wasn't hard at all for Gildarts to block the punch and send him flying.

Mira rose up, a whirlpool above her head, "River of sorrow!" she roars, sending the water crashing at the ace of Fairy Tail.

"Disassembly." He says easily, and the net of light sliced the jet of water into pieces, hitting Mira square in the chest and splitting her into hundreds of chibi demons. While they might be able to overwhelm him in numbers, her overall magic power was also split, and she just didn't have the strength to actually do anything. Regardless, he waiting until they were all attacking him, and released the full might of his crash magic, sending them all crashing through the floor. "Assembly." He casts, reassembling the chibi demons back into her full self, though she was still dazed from that last attack.

"Give it up." He says, taking another sip of the beer that Kinana had given him the last time he brought down his two opponents, "It's obvious to everyone that you've lost."

"No…" she says, struggling to get up, "Just get out of my-"

"What happened here?" Lisanna gasps when she walks into the guild hall. The tables that were usually full of laughing, joking and drinking mages had been reduced to pulp in the back of the hall. There were so many holes in the wall that it was a wonder the guild was still standing. The stock of drinks that were behind the bar had exploded at some point, and were still burning, with Juvia trying her best to extinguish the flames without drawing attention to herself.

"LISANNA!" Mira growls, jumping out of the hole and grabbing her arm, "WHAT HAPPENED!?"

"Mira… what's going on?" she asks, looking around the warzone.

"She wanted to follow you two." Gildarts answers, "WE had a bit of a disagreement about that."

"A 'bit' of a disagreement?" Natsu smirks, "The guild hall hasn't been this trashed since phantom."

"NEVERMIND THAT!" Mira says, still shaking her sister, "WHAT HAPPENED ON YOUR DATE!?"

By now, Lisanna was more than a little dizzy, struggling to stay on her feet.

"Mira, relax." The master says, placing a giant hand on her shoulder, "I want to know what happened just as much as you, but you won't get any answers by shaking her."

Realizing what she'd been doing, Mira gasps and let's go of her sister, who promptly falls over, world spinning all around her. Natsu had been dragged away by the guys, all of whom were demanding details. Happy, who had flown in after Natsu get there, was asking whether they got him any souvenirs, especially fish.

It was almost an hour before Mira was satisfied that nothing bad happened on the date, though that didn't stop her from glaring daggers at the pink haired slayer until Lisanna slapped her arm lightly, glaring at her while the rest of the guild laughed and fixed the damage from Mira vs. Gildarts.

* * *

The day had arrived. At Hargeon, Makarov sat atop a boat as he awaited the arrival of the S-class candidates. The first to arrive was Freed and his partner, Bixlow. Next were Juvia and Lisanna. Then Mest and Wendy, followed closely by Cana and Laki. Levy and Gajeel boarded next, as did Grey and Pantherlily. Elfman and Evergreen boarded alongside Lucy, who had partnered with Loke.

With everyone gathered together, they set sail, bound for Tenrou Island.

* * *

So, next chapter is back to the plot. Since it's basic plot with a few changes, it shouldn't be that hard to write. Maybe some time in the next few days. Until then, as always, R&R!


End file.
